TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (3) TMI 816
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....1.03.2021. 4. These Section 148 Notices dated 01.04.2021 issued under the old regime as in force till 31.03.2021 ultimately culminated in the Assessment Orders dated 30.03.2022 for all the aforesaid Assessment Years against the Petitioner has preferred appeals before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) under Section 246A of the Act. 5. Meanwhile, the Hon'ble Supreme Court delivered its verdict in Union of India Vs. Ashish Agarwal., (2024) SCC Online SC 2693 on 04.05.2022, which was later clarified by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Union of India Vs. Rajeev Bansal, 2024 SCC Online SC 2993. 6. In Paragraph No.28 from Ashish Agarwal case (cited supra), the Hon'ble Supreme Court held as under:- 28. In view of the above and for the reasons stated above, the present Appeals are allowed in part. The impugned common judgments and orders passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in W.T. No. 524/2021 and other allied tax appeals/petitions, is/are hereby modified and substituted as under: (i) The impugned section 148 notices issued to the respective assessee's which were issued under unamended section 148 of the IT Act, which were the subject matter of ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....aragraph No.112 of Rajeev Bansal case (cited supra). 9. For the sake of clarity, Paragraph Nos.112 and 114 from Rajeev Bansal case (cited supra) are extracted hereunder:- "112. Let us take the instance of a notice issued on May 1, 2021 under the old regime for a relevant assessment year. Because of the legal fiction, the deemed show-cause notices will also come into effect from May 1, 2021. After accounting for all the exclusions, the Assessing Officer will have sixty-one days (days between May 1, 2021 and June 30, 2021) to issue a notice under section 148 of the new regime. This time starts ticking for the Assessing Officer after receiving the response of the assessee. In this instance, if the assessee submits the response on June 18, 2022, the Assessing Officer will have sixty one days from June 18, 2022 to issue a reassessment notice under section 148 of the new regime. Thus, in this illustration, the time limit for issuance of a notice under section 148 of the new regime will end on August 18, 2022. 114. In view of the above discussion, we conclude that: (a) After April 1, 2021, the Income Tax Act has to be read along with the substituted provision....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....tion and other Laws (Relaxation and Amendment of Certain Provisions Act, 2020. All notices issued beyond the surviving period are time barred and liable to be set aside; 10. Following the ratio of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Ashish Agarwal case (referred supra), the Petitioner was issued with a Notice dated 01.06.2022 under Section 148A(b) of the Act under the new regime as in force with effect from 01.04.2021, which culminated in Section 148A(d) order dated 29.07.2022 and a Notice dated 29.07.2022 under Section 148 of the Act, which has now culminated in the impugned assessment orders dated 30.03.2023. 11. The challenge to the impugned Assessment Orders dated 30.03.2022 is primarily on the ground that once the assessment was completed and an order was passed under Section 147 read with Section 144 of the Act, the issuance of Section 148A(b) Notice under the new regime as in force with effect from 01.04.2021 in the light of the aforesaid decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court cannot be justified. 12. Learned counsel for the Petitioner has placed reliance on the decision of this Court in M/s.Merton Vs. The Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Chennai and another in W.P.No.26....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....which may be available to the assessee's concerned and Revenue under the Finance Act, 2021 and in law shall continue to be available. 29. The present order shall be applicable PAN INDIA and all judgments and orders passed by the different High Courts on the issue and under which similar notices which were issued after 1-4-2021 issued under Section 148 of the Act are set aside and shall be governed by the present order and shall stand modified to the aforesaid extent. The present order is passed in exercise of powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India so as to avoid any further appeals by the Revenue on the very issue by challenging similar judgments and orders, with a view not to burden this Court with approximately 9000 appeals. We also observe that the present order shall also govern the pending writ petitions, pending before various the High Courts in which similar notices under Section 148 of the Act issued after 1-4-2021 are under challenge. 30. The impugned common judgments and orders [Ashok Kumar Agarwal v. Union of India, 2021 SCC OnLine All 799] passed by the High Court of Allahabad and the similar judgments and orders passed by various High C....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ent Orders are liable to be interfered with. 18. Under similar circumstances, this Court in M/s.Anand Cine Services Private Limited Vs. Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax in W.P.No.16023 of 2022 vide Order dated 04.11.2025 has held as under:- "16. It must be observed that once the re-assessment proceedings initiated with issuance of Section 148 Notice under the old regime as in force till 30.06.2021 has already been completed on the earlier set of facts with the issuance of an Assessment Order dated 28.03.2022 under Section 147 of the Act based on the earlier set of facts, the Department cannot reopen the assessment on the basis of the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme court in Ashish Agarwal case (cited supra). 17. The principle laid down in Ashish Agarwal case (cited supra) and Rajeev Bansal case (cited supra) applies only in cases where the assessment was yet to be completed and no Assessment or Re-Assessment Order had been passed earlier. Only in such cases, a fresh Notice under Section 148A(b) of the Act under the new regime as in force with effect from 01.04.2021 could be validly issued. 18. Even if the defense of the Petitioner is a technical de....